Giorgio Corazza

Transparent optical packet switching: network architecture and demonstrators in the KEOPS project

This paper reviews the work carried out in the ACTS KEOPS (Keys to Optical Packet Switching) project, describing the results obtained to date. The main objective of the project is the definition, development, and assessment of optical packet switching and routing networks, capable of providing transparency to the payload bit rate, using optical packets of fixed duration and low bit rate headers in order to enable easier processing at the network/node interfaces. The feasibility of the KEOPS concept is assessed by modeling, laboratory experiments, and testbed implementation of optical packet switching nodes and network/node interfacing blocks, including a fully equipped demonstrator. The demonstration relies on advanced optoelectronic components, developed within the project, which are described.

Exploitation of DWDM for optical packet switching with quality of service guarantees

This paper addresses the problem of building optical packet switches that are able to effectively cope with variable length packet traffic and quality of service management, therefore able to support IP traffic. The paper aims at showing that the availability of dense wavelength division multiplexing is crucial. By suitably exploiting the wavelength dimension a multistage fiber delay line buffer can be implemented, with fine granularity and long delay with an architecture of limited complexity. This is necessary to fulfill the buffering requirements of variable length packets. Furthermore, the wavelength domain is proved to be more effective than the time domain to manage different levels of quality of service. Algorithms are presented that are peculiarly designed for this environment showing that they can effectively differentiate the packet loss probability between three priority classes.

Wide-band CDMA for the UMTS/IMT-2000 satellite component

This paper describes the main aspects relevant to the development of a third-generation radio transmission technology (RTT) concept identified as satellite wide-band CDMA (SW-CDMA), which has been accepted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as one of the possible RTTs for the satellite component of International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000). The main outcomes of the extensive system engineering effort that has led to the above ITU RTT are described. In particular, we address propagation channel characteristics, satellite diversity, power control, pilot channel, code acquisition, digital modulation and spreading format, interference mitigation, and resource allocation. Due to its similarity with respect to the terrestrial W-CDMA proposal from which it is derived, the SW-CDMA open air interface solution is described briefly, with emphasis only on the major adaptation required to best cope with the satellite environment. Quantitative results concerning the physical-layer performance over realistic channel conditions, for both forward and reverse link, are reported. A system capacity study case for a low-Earth-orbit constellation is also provided.

SIP-empowered optical networks for future IT services and applications

This article presents a novel application-aware network architecture for evolving and emerging IT services and applications. It proposes to enrich an optical burst switching network with a session control layer that can close the gap between application requests and network control. The session control layer is implemented using the session initiation protocol, giving birth to what is called a SIP-OBS architecture. The article discusses the important added value of this architecture, and shows that it may support a number of end-to-end resource discovery and reservation strategies (for both network and non-network resources). Finally, it presents a testbed implementation where this approach was experimentally validated.

Scheduling Algorithms for a Slotted Packet Switch with either Fixed or Variable Length Packets

We address the problem of congestion resolution in optical packet switching (OPS). We consider a fairly generic all-optical packet switch architecture with a feedback optical buffer constituted of fiber delay lines (FDL). Two alternatives of switching granularity are addressed for a switch operating in a slotted transfer mode: switching at the slot level (i.e., fixed length packets of a single slot) or at the burst level (variable length packets that are integer multiples of the slot length). For both cases, we show that in spite of the limited queuing resources, acceptable performance in terms of packet loss can be achieved for reasonable hardware resources with an appropriate design of the time/wavelength scheduling algorithms. Depending on the switching units (slots or bursts), an adapted scheduling algorithm needs to be deployed to exploit the bandwidth and buffer resources most efficiently.

Pilot-aided coherent uplink for mobile satellite CDMA networks

A pilot-aided coherent uplink transmission scheme is proposed for mobile satellite communications at L-band. The scheme is designed to enhance link performance as compared to coded noncoherent M-ary orthogonal modulation, while maintaining small envelope fluctuations and low complexity. A rigorous analysis is performed for the proposed technique, when used in conjunction with a direct-sequence code-division multiple-access convolutionally encoded binary phase shift keying link, in a Rice-fading channel with satellite diversity. The pilot-aided scheme has been extensively simulated, accounting for finite interleaving in slow fading and nonideal carrier frequency recovery. The results show a significant performance gain with respect to noncoherent schemes designed for similar links, which goes up to 1.8 dB for 9.6 kb/s services with slow moving users exploiting dual-satellite diversity.

Design of a WDM optical packet switch for IP traffic

This paper addresses the design of an optical packet switch able to effectively cope with variable length packet traffic, such as IP traffic. A switching architecture equipped with a multistage fiber delay line buffer is presented, that is able to realize fine time granularity and long delay. WDM is introduced to solve switch internal blocking and to enhance buffer exploitation. Packet loss performance, evaluated by simulation, is discussed in relation to the degrees of freedom available for switch design, to show the feasibility of a switch for the IP environment.

Hybrid Space-Ground Processing for High-Capacity Multi-Beam Satellite Systems

Signal processing in satellite applications is usually performed either on-ground or on-board, i.e. at the gateway station or in the payload. Within the framework of the European Space Agency (ESA) SatNEx III study, a hybrid approach has been considered by splitting the processing between the satellite and the gateway, aiming to strike a better balance between performance and payload complexity. The design of a high-capacity multi-beam system has been carried out, to assess the potential applicability of a hybrid space-ground processing architecture (Digisat) for satellite broadband systems; this is achieved via hybrid space-ground beamforming, MIMO and MIMO-MUD, Precoding, as well as Digital Feeder link techniques.

Analysis of coded noncoherent transmission in DS-CDMA mobile satellite communications

The paper analyzes possible transmission schemes for satellite personal communication systems adopting low/medium-Earth orbit (LEO/MEO) constellations and direct-sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) in the presence of fading and shadowing, the statistics of which are functions of the satellite elevation angle. In particular, the performance of M-ary Walsh-Hadamard orthogonal (MWHO) convolutionally coded DS-CDMA over a Rice-log-normal fading channel is analyzed in depth, and compared to the simpler coded differential BPSK (DBPSK) scheme. Optimization of the performance/complexity tradeoff in the metric computation for soft inputs to the Viterbi (1979) decoder is addressed. Upper bounds on the error probability without or with satellite diversity and equal gain combining are evaluated considering different coding rates. The effect of correlated fading is also taken into account via simulation. Among the various results, it is shown that the optimal coding rate is a function of the satellite elevation angle and of the diversity order, that the loss for using DBPSK instead of MWHO is in the range 1-1.4 dB, and that interleaving depth is a critical parameter.

Performance evaluation of input-buffered replicated banyan networks

Input-buffered replicated networks are considered for broadband switching applications. They are characterized by many design parameters such as the replication factor, the traffic management policy, and input buffer location and length. To show the influence of these parameters on switching performance, an analytical model is defined based on a Markov chain representation of the input buffer. This model is suitable for application to input buffered architecture having different routing network choices. The results, expressed in terms of throughput, packet delay, and packet loss probability, outline the performance improvements with respect to other well-known networks with input buffers, such as banyan and crossbar, reached through the flexibility offered by this architectural solution. >